Our Get Along Shirt
by BullRunPicnicker
Summary: TKO learns to share and makes friends. Crossposted from AO3
1. this is not a boy's house, is it?

After sharing control with TKO, nothing was ever the same for KO. His fear of losing control had lessened. He was more aware of his other self, both in an empathetic sense and in a physical one. The other's consciousness tickled at the back of his mind, ebbing at times, but never disappearing.

Currently, he was sitting in the break room at the bodega. He had been feeling some negative emotions brewing from the back of his mind for the past couple of days, and since the incidents with attacking customers and his breakthrough with TKO, he had been trying to be more attentive to TKO's moods. If the other boy was feeling bad, he wanted to know why.

He entered his mindspace. TKO's house looked pretty much the same, though the upper windows were open. He walked up to the door and knocked briskly.

There was no response.

He knocked again. "I know you're in there!"

There was a long moment of silence. "It's unlocked," TKO said gruffly and distantly.

KO entered, noticing that most everything that TKO had destroyed inside his house had been replaced. The place was a bit… angry for his taste, but he liked anything that made the other boy happy. He passed through the poster filled living room and followed the sound of lazily plucked guitar to the bedroom. He opened the door to find TKO, sitting in a bean bag chair and playing guitar.

"What." TKO said flatly.

KO made a matching bean bag chair and belly flopped down into at high speed. "Hi, TKO! I'm here to cheer you up!"

TKO carefully set his guitar on the ground. "Why."

He kicked his feet playfully. "I thought it felt like you might be feeling down. So I'm here to help!"

TKO looked away. "You don't want to help."

KO held up a finger. "Aaaaaactually, I love helping! I'm a good helper." He smiled brightly.

TKO frowned balefully. He stood, walking over to examine a poster and putting his back to him. "I want out."

KO frowned and buried his face in his bean bag chair. He could hear TKO start to shuffle around the room. He listened as he paced from bed to wall and back, stomping loudly. KO put his hands over his head. He did not want to have this conversation.

Eventually, TKO continued speaking, his words dripping with distaste. "I want out, and you want me trapped. I've been thinking about it, and even if I do escape, your stupid friends will just hug me back to you. So, get out of here. You're not gonna help."

KO stood up, his hands outstretched in a placating gesture. "You know I can't let you out. You got really mad and hurt my friends. Maybe I can let you have more control during fights, but I really can't-"

TKO leapt through the air, his fists sparking with purple lightning. He whirled past KO and made contact with the punching bag in the middle of the room, swinging it back hard with the force of his strike.

"That's not _fair_ ," said TKO. He punctuated his sentences with strong hits to his punching bag. "You get everything! Control! Friends! And what do I get?" He whirled around, stalking towards a pale faced KO. "Fake sugary cereal? I'm sick of it!"

KO backed away, his expression troubled. "I'm sorry, TKO. I didn't know you felt so bad about this."

He snarled, a wordless noise. "You don't get it," he growled. "You don't get anything. You're so stupid."

TKO stalked across the room and threw himself facedown on his bed. KO crept up behind him quietly. He reached out his hand and touched TKO's shoulder. The other boy whipped around and bared his teeth at him.

" _What_."

"What would you do? If you had control?"

TKO sat up, drawing his knees up. KO sat beside him on the bed. There was a quiet moment of calm as TKO thought over his answer seriously. KO fidgeted with his wristbands quietly.

"...Does it matter?"

"Yeah! Of course! You can do all the things you want to do. What sorts of things do you like?"

"Nothing." He buried his face into his knees. "Fighting."

"That's silly! There's lots of things to like! Videos game, cartoons, chocolate milk, working at the bodega-"

TKO looked up, angry. "I don't like any of those things! Those are things that you like! I'm a whole different animal." He flashed his teeth dangerously.

KO stroked his chin thoughtfully. "Okay, so none of those. But you do like some stuff! You like loud angry music and sugar cereal and spaghetti."

He shrugged dismissively.

KO looked down at his toes. "If you don't have anything that you want to do, then why do you want control? Most of the stuff you like, you can do in here. And you can wreck anything you want if you want and nobody will get mad."

TKO sighed. "But its all fake. Everything in here is fake. I want… I want to be _real_ , to be an actual person. I feel… First, I was trapped in here in that stupid cage, and then I was trapped in here with lots of fake stuff, and that was better, I guess. Being able to do stuff when we went after Shadowy Figure felt good. And I don't just mean when we synced up. Even when we were sharing half and half, it was _fun_."

"It _was_ fun," agreed KO.

"After fighting together… it made me realize that I didn't just want to be a battery to help you fight better. I want to actually do stuff."

TKO looked vaguely embarrassed at his outpouring of emotion. KO hopped up from the bed. He smiled broadly and held out his hand to the other boy. He stood up on his own, watching his hand warily. Undaunted, KO grabbed TKO and pulled him to the center of the room.

KO quickly made a whiteboard and some markers. He handed the purple one to TKO and uncapped his blue one. "Okay," he said. "We just need to draw up a plan of action." He started to draw a big sloppy T chart, labeling one side 'KO' and the other side 'TKO.' "We just need to figure out exactly what we both want, and then we can figure out how we both can be happy."

TKO grimaced. "This looks dumb."

"No, look, it's fun!" KO wrote down 'TKO to be happy :)' on the KO side. TKO snorted disbelievingly and shouldered him out of the way. He quickly wrote 'some control' on his side. KO put down 'not hurting my friends :(' and 'TKO makes some friends :)' on his side.

"This isn't going to work," warned TKO. "All I want is to live in reality. And you're not gonna allow that. This is stupid."

KO tapped his uncapped marker against his chin thoughtfully. "Hmm. Well, the only reason I don't let you out is because I don't trust you to not be naughty. Buuuuuut, I can't learn to trust you unless you have the opportunity to not be naughty." He started to pace the length of the room, mumbling and tapping his chin with the marker. TKO smirked.

"Your chin."

"So maybe we can work something out where we share? Like we both kinda take turns being in charge?"

"Your chin."

"Not long turns. Not whole days, but maybe like a school period? That's not too long. And you've shown that when you want to you can take control of my arms or legs temporarily, so maybe that would be enough to keep my mind at ease?"

"The marker."

KO stopped pacing, beaming at TKO with unbridled enthusiasm. The other boy snorted and pointed at his chin. KO made a gesture at his face, dispelling the marker marks on his chin and the marker itself.

"Okay, TKO! Let's share!"

TKO, still smirking, held out his hand. "Let's share."

KO happily shook his hand.


	2. my nervous little punk boy

KO woke up the next day like he always woke up: energetically.

He leapt out of bed and said out loud, "TKO! Today's the day!"

He felt, rather than heard, his counterpart grumble sleepily in response.

As KO went about his morning routine to get ready to go to work, he continued to periodically announce out loud questions and exclamations to TKO. His mother gave him a strange look, but didn't comment until they were in the car on the way to the plaza.

"Whatcha excited about today, kiddo?"

KO bounced in his seat, his enthusiasm only restrained by his seat belt. "Today's the day that TKO is gonna make some friends! He said he wants to make friends other than me, so he's gonna try to play nice at the bodega with my friends!"

Internally, he heard a cranky, 'That is not what I said.'

"It's what you meant," he said out loud. He frowned briefly. "This is gonna be kinda weird. Since people can't hear him is he's on the inside and I'm on the outside. Do you want to come out?"

There was a long pause.

'...No. Not right now.'

"Okay!'

Carol furrowed her brow. "So, you're gonna do what, exactly?"

"We're gonna share today, so that TKO can talk to people and make friends, and I can still do my shift and see my friends. It's gonna be great! He's been wanting to make it up to everyone, because of when he broke everything and scared everyone, so now he can, and I can keep an eye on him so he won't do anything naughty!" KO smiled broadly and guilelessly.

Carol nodded as she pulled the car into the bodega parking lot. "Okay, honey. I trust you." She pulled into a parking space and parked the car. She turned to KO with a gentle expression. "Be sure to be careful, okay? If you need any help, you can ask Mr. Gar, and I'm always just a few steps away in the dojo." She leaned forward and gave him a kiss on the forehead. "I love you."

KO giggled and climbed out of the car. He waved. "Bye, mommy! Love you, too."

He walked towards the bodega. "Are you ready? This is so exciting!" KO tapped his feet on the ground quickly in happiness. "Okay, your turn!"

And with that, KO slumped to the ground. Inside his mind, KO stepped backwards. Disoriented, he looked around inside his mind. He was standing in front of the house, which was cold and empty. He turned around to look at the eye shaped screen that comprised the front wall of his mind. The view was staticy and vacant. In between himself and the static, TKO was sitting cross legged on the ground facing the screen.

"TKO?" He crept a bit closer. "TKO? Did you not hear me? It's your turn!"

TKO stiffened and looked over his shoulder. He looked… distressed. His arms were crossed, and his dark nails bit into his arms.

TKO broke eye contact and said, "I- Um. Maybe- Maybe we could try again tomorrow? I don't- Um."

KO walked up and sat beside him. He reached out to put his hand on his shoulder, but was immediately shrugged off. He folded his hands in his lap.

"What's wrong? I thought you wanted to take control?" asked KO perplexedly.

TKO was quiet for a moment, still. He bit into his lip with sharp teeth, gnawing like a starving dog. He stood up abruptly, almost bowling over KO, who was leaned towards him. He stalked away towards his house.

"Just shut up. I've got it."

KO watched him disappear from inside their mindspace. The static on the eye shaped screen faded away and jostled as TKO took control and stood up.

"Good luck!" he shouted in the empty room, hoping the other boy would hear him.

TKO picked himself off the ground with a dignity not normally associated to people who collapse on the sidewalk for no obvious reason. He reached up and rubbed the material of his headband thoughtfully before leaving it be. He walked to the automatic doors and stepped inside.

Inside, the store was the same as always. Enid was manning the counter, Rad was stocking shelves, and customers were sparse.

'We should help Rad stock! Oh, oh! We should see if Mr. Gar is around! Look look! It's Potato! She's so nice. You should say hi!' KO spoke inside from inside TKO's brain, making it difficult to tune out his 'guidance.'

TKO ignored it and stared at the ground. His fists clenched and unclenched.

He heard a sharp whistle and snapped his head. He made eye contact with Enid and she gave a friendly wave, beckoning him over. TKO stiffly walked up to her.

"Practicing your death drops? Are you trying to be as good as Rad and I at dancing?" she asked brightly.

TKO shrugged stiffly.

'Say hello!'

He hunched up his shoulders a bit and ground out a gruff "hello."

Enid snapped her magazine shut. She eyed him with equal parts curiosity and caution.

"Got a frog in your throat, KO?" she asked carefully.

TKO bared his teeth threateningly. "Guess again, loser."

'Try being nicer!' KO chimed in. 'Try again.'

TKO grimanced. "I meant. I'm not KO."

"Oooookay. Did KO get jumped by Shadowy Figure or something?"

"No," he growled. "We're… trying something new."

'We're sharing!' chimed in KO.

"Sharing," he added.

"Sharing?"

TKO looked away, crossing his arms. "Yeah. Remember the other day? When we were walking all weird? That was the first try. This," he gestured at himself, "is the second."

"So, KO's, like, in there?" asked Enid.

TKO huffed and leaned against the counter with faux casualness. "Yeah, he's in our head right now. He's trying to let me do stuff on my own, but I know he's ready to jump in if I get too mad or whatever."

She relaxed a bit and nodded diplomatically. "You did destroy the plaza."

TKO looked affronted. "Once!"

Enid snorted and wiped an imaginary tear from her eye.

"It's not funny," he said, but there was no heat behind his words.

'He's here to make friends!' said KO. TKO grimanced.

Enid waved her hand a little to get his attention. "Hello? You spaced out for a bit there."

He mad a dismissive hand gesture. "KO won't shut up and I can't tune him out."

"That's…" Enid turned away from him to check out a customer at her normal blistering pace. When she turned back, she was still a bit perplexed. "That's interesting. So, he's just jabbering at you constantly?"

TKO felt his control begin to be gently tugged. Immediately, he relinquished his hold. KO instantly straightened up and stopped leaning against the counter so he could put his hands on it to lean excitedly towards Enid. She looked startled at the sudden change and flinched subtly backwards.

"Hi, Enid! It's me, KO! TKO is trying to make friends, so I'm letting him come into work today, but don't worry, I'm in here the whole time! And he's been getting really good at being good."

Enid leaned forward and ruffled his hair. "I trust you, brushhead. Just as long as Mr. Gar doesn't see you slacking, you guys should be fine."

KO bounced on his feet as he thought out loud. "That's right, TKO technically doesn't work here. Do you think we should make a name tag? Can he wear the same vest as me? Will we-"

KO's voice changed mid sentence as he pushed out of the driver's seat by force.

"NO." TKO said. "Don't. Don't-" He glanced around like a cornered animal looking for an exit. He could feel KO scrambling for control and ignored his distressed chatter. "Don't tell anyone I'm here. You don't have to lie if someone figures it out, but I want to keep it quiet. I don't- I don't want to…"

Enid reached over to ruffle his hair again, but he pulled out of range of her hand. "Don't worry, your secret is safe with me. Now, I think Brandon needs help over by the throwing axes."

TKO gave her a serious nod and skulked towards the back of the store. Enid sat on the counter and put her feet up.

"What could possibly go wrong?" she asked the ceiling before returning to her magazine.

* * *

The shift, surprisingly, went without incident. TKO was just as good as KO at cleaning and other menial tasks, and he handed over control without complaint when customers made his temper grow short. All in all, both boys thought that this had been a rousing success. TKO was quick to head for the front door, eager to meet up with Carol and leave. Although today was good, it was the most restrained he had ever been, as well as the most constant interaction he had ever had. He was feeling a bit frazzled.

Enid caught him by the arm as he tried to walk past her counter. He growled and pulled away, swinging to face her. She didn't seem at all perturbed and simply held up her hands to show that she wasn't restraining him anymore.

"Hey, T. I told Carol that I would take you home. Wait up for me?" She gave him a slightly devious smile.

He growled his assent and ignored KO's excited tittering in his head. He tapped his bare foot impatiently as Enid took her sweet time saying goodbye to Rad, hanging up her name badge, and walking as slowly as possible back to the front door. Rad passed TKO and gave him a puzzled look at his lack of a goodbye hug and his dark expression. At this point, TKO was fuming and staring daggers at Enid. She ignored it and gave him a cheeky smile.

She held out her hand for him to take. "Ready to go?"

He pointedly ignored it and stalked out the front door. He continued to fume as she locked the automatic doors and headed out across the parking lot with him following.

'Why would Enid want to walk us home? Where are we going? Ask her! She's nice, you can ask her.'

TKO pointedly did not ask her out of spite. He walked behind her as she whistled cheerfully and lead him across the mostly empty parking lot. He stuck his hands in his pockets and slouched. He was entirely within his own head (in a distracted sense, rather than literally this time) when she stuck her hand out and halted him in his tracks.

"Wait!" Enid yelled.

TKO froze.

She held out one of her hands, using the other to gesture to the crosswalk. "You can't cross the street unless you're holding my hand. It's not safe."

TKO growled, low and dangerous.

Enid, unmoved, raised an eyebrow.

"This is stupid," said TKO.

"Road safety isn't stupid."

"I'm so strong, if a car hit me, I'd be fine. You're just treating me like a baby! Stop patronizing me!" TKO's hands started to spark. He bared his teeth in a snarl.

Enid swung her hands behind her head, quickly assuming a cool kid lean. "Fine, if you don't want to cross the street with me, you don't have to see the cool kid stuff I was gonna share with you." She closed her eyes dramatically. "I thought you might be into the same sort of angsty stuff I was real into, but if not, that's fine."

She cracked one eye open to see TKO no longer as angry. Instead, he was bouncing lightly on his heels with familiar open curiosity. It was just as silly with a wild mane and a scowl as it was with a brush head and a beam.

"What sorts of stuff? You never showed KO any stuff at your house. What is it?!" He looked back at the crosswalk critically before locking eyes with her again.

Enid smirked and held out her hand. TKO reached up and grabbed her hand roughly. His dull fingernails dug into her hand as they crossed the street without incident.

* * *

Less than an hour later, Enid drove him to his house. TKO, clutching an armful of manga and CDs, looked unfocused and tired, but his mouth was curved just slightly upwards as he stared out the window. She drove slowly and didn't bother him with chatter.

'Enid's so nice! I can't believe she's letting you keep all this cool stuff!'

TKO grunted in response. He cleared his throat and glanced at her out of the corner of his eye.

"Thank you," he grunted lowly. He cleared his throat again. "You didn't… You didn't have to do all this."

Enid nodded at him, keeping her eyes on the road. "No prob, little dude. That's what friends are for."

He swallowed and tensed, looking back out the window for a minute in silence. Finally, he spoke again. "I'm- I'm sorry I punched you. And broke the plaza."

Enid smiled. "Are you sorry about calling me a 'wage slave?'"

He tightened his hold on the paperbacks and CDs. "I'm only apologizing for what I did wrong. I'm not KO."

Enid snickered. He looked out the car window and let loose a tiny smile. They drove on in a comfortable silence for another mile before she spoke again.

"You know, I gathered all this stuff up for you the day after you boys fought that baby bot. I didn't know which of you was… in control but I thought that if you were on our side now, you might like my old edgy favorites. My kid brothers aren't really into this sort of thing, and it's kinda nice to have someone who could appreciate it."

TKO was quiet. He turned his head to look at her fully.

"TKO?" She tilted her head towards him as she drove within sight of KO's house. Carol's tank was parked outside. "If you ever need anything, you can always ask. I'm KO's friend, but I'd like to be yours."

He ducked his head and let his hair cover his expression as she parked next to Carol's tank. He mumbled something into his hair. He reached out to the door handle and exited the car as quickly as he could without disrupting his loose load of media. She stalked away from the car a few feet before suddenly standing up straight. KO turned around and awkwardly shuffled his bundle to one arm and waving enthusiastically back at Enid.

"Bye, Enid! See you tomorrow!"

Enid quirked an eyebrow and waved back a little unsurely. "Bye, KO? See you tomorrow."

With that, KO turned back around and walked inside with TKO's mangas, graphic novels, and loud music.


	3. a half good half bad half boy

KO walked into the living room after school excitedly.

"Mommy?"

Carol looked up from her book. KO was giving her the biggest puppy eyes she had seen in a while.

"Yes, honey?"

"Can I have a sleepover with Dendy?"

Carol smiled. "Well, I'll have to talk to Dendy's parents, but that sounds fine with me. Do you have their number?"

KO quickly read the number off of his phone to her. He bounced on the balls of his feet as Carol whipped out her cell phone.

"Hello? Is this Dendy's mom?... This is Carol, I'm KO's mother, and- Yes, that's my little boy." She reached down and ruffled KO's hair. "He'd like to ask you something."

Carol passed the phone to KO's waiting hands. "HelloMsDendy'smom! I'm KO and I wanted to ask if I could have a sleepover with Dendy? My mom says it okay."

The warm voice on the line chuckled. "Hello there! Of course you can have a sleepover with Dendy. You know, I've heard a lot about you from her. She talks about you a lot." The voice laughed kindly. "Can I talk to you mom again, kiddo? We need to iron out the details."

"Okay thank you!" KO passed the phone back and dashed out of the living room and into his bedroom. He quickly began throwing his favorite action figures and two pairs of underwear into a duffel bag.

"Isn't this great! A real sleepover! Dendy said she's never had one and I've never been invited before, so this is gonna be so cool! We did sleep at Rad's house that one time, but it wasn't a real sleepover. I'm gonna look up all the sorts of things that you can do at a slumber party so we'll be prepared. Aren't you excited, TKO?"

There was a distinct silence from his mindspace.

"TKO? Can you hear me?"

'Yeah. I guess. Sleepovers sound lame.' TKO sounded off in a way that KO couldn't put his finger on.

"They're not, though! You can do all these fun games, but most of them require more than two bodies and some of them sound scary, but other than that it's super cool!"

He got nothing but a distant 'I guess' in response. He ceased his search for more toys to bag as he looked worriedly up.

"Is… there something else that is bothering you?"

A beat of silence.

'All of your friends suck. But Dendy kept taunting me with control and then trapping me again. For weeks .'

KO sat down on his bed and rested his head in his hands.

"Oh. Oh yeah. Hm. Maybe you can talk to her about it? She won't know that you're mad at her unless you tell her."

'She knows. She knew when I broke her stupid lab.'

KO frowned. "Can you promise not to break anything during the sleepover?"

No response.

"And talk to Dendy."

Silence.

"Please? For me? She's my best friend."

'Some best friend,' TKO snorted. He sighed moodily. " Fine . I won't break anything."

'And you'll talk to her?'

"We'll see," said TKO gruffly.

Carol came around the corner, brow a little furrowed. Her expression softened at the sight of her son and his attempts at packing the 'essentials.'

"Hey, honey. I got everything set up. You're going to Dendy's tomorrow night after dinner. You excited?"

'I'm so excited!' KO tried to yell, but nothing came out. Somehow, TKO had gained control during their conversation and he hadn't noticed.

TKO avoided eye contact and growled out, "I guess." He and Carol both stiffened.

Carol smiled hesitantly. "Okay then. I'll help you pack tomorrow. Get some rest, sweetie."

KO wrestled control from his other half easily and looked up at his mom with a bright smile. "Goodnight, mommy! Love you."

Carol smiled a little more. "Love you, too."

* * *

KO bounced in the passenger seat of Carol's car as they pulled up to Dendy's house. It was a typically kappa house. The street was familiar, but instead of driveways and houses, short bridges stretched over deep water, connecting the giant lily pads that the houses were built on with the road. A hyper freeway passed overhead, giving the whole area something of a swampy underpass feeling. He was so excited, he was almost vibrating.

Carol clicked her seatbelt off and laughed warmly. "Excited?"

KO shook his head furiously.

"Remember, be polite to Dendy's parents. And don't stay up too late! And don't forget to brush your teeth. Oh!" She leaned across the armrest and gather KO into a big hug. "I'm so excited! My baby's first official sleepover!"

KO giggled and returned the hug gladly. Carol released him and reached into the backseat to grab his overnight bag. He took it gladly.

"Have fun, sweetheart. And if you need to call me, I'll have my phone on me all night, okay?"

KO jumped out of the car, waving as he went. "Bye, mommy! Love you!"

* * *

An hour or two later, Dendy and KO were fully in sleepover mode. They were in their pajamas and had camped out in Dendy's living room. The next item on their list (which was an actual, physical list that KO had printed out and brought), was watching a movie and eating popped corn. Dendy's parents had helpfully supplied a bowl of popcorn. Unhelpfully, this bowl seemed to be mostly unpopped kernels. Dendy and KO deemed this acceptable as sleepover fare.

Currently, they were scanning through Dendy's DVD collection for something to watch. Movies were picked up and discarded at high speeds and for archaic reasons. Eventually, they narrowed down the choices and took a vote between Kickmaster: Another One and Hyena Buddies . Dendy put them side by side on the floor.

"Clearly the superior choice is Kickmaster. It is a sequel and an action movie, implying that it is mindless and entertaining. This makes it the proper sleepover fare."

KO shook his head and bounced in his seat. "Nu uh! Hyena Buddies is the best! It has animal friends! And singing!"

Dendy adjusted her goggles. "We are at an impasse then. Perhaps we can-"

Suddenly, KO twitched like he had been zapped by a low powered electric attack. He flipped his head down and growled, "I vote for the punchy one," in a low voice. Then, he looked back up, his expression brightening.

"Okay, that's two to one! Guess we're watching your movie, Dendy," said KO, as if nothing had happened.

Dendy leaned forward. "What just happened?" She reached over and held open KO's eyelid for a second, checking his pupil intently.

"Oh! I forgot to tell you. TKO and I are getting along better. I think we're getting really good at sharing."

Dendy removed her hand from his face. "Oh?"

"Yeah! He made friends with Enid the other day. It was really cool." KO frowned thoughtfully. "I don't know why he's being so quiet right now. Normally he butts in when I talk about him to correct me."

Dendy leaned back into her own space. She looked a bit pained. "I would really like to know more, but I fear that your list is as strict as it is detailed. Exhaustion related emotional honesty is placed chronologically far past movie viewing."

KO nodded. "Well, let's watch your movie." He reached for the DVD case. "Will I be lost if I haven't seen the first one?"

'You've seen it,' huffed TKO in his mind. 'It's the one where the guy kicks the bad guy into orbit.'

Dendy started to open her mouth to ask, but KO interrupted. "Oh yeah! I've seen the first one. Thanks, TKO."

Dendy closed her mouth and then opened it again. She squinted her eyes at him. He gave her a chipper, guileless smile. "I will formula my questions for after the movie. Based on our age and the late hour, if we successfully stay up through the whole movie, we will be tired enough for 'sleepover talk.'"

"Okay!"

They set up the movie quickly and quietly. Dendy was quiet because she was recontextualizing after obtaining outlier data. KO was quiet because it took all of his concentration to work an unfamiliar DVD player with slick popcorn hands. Eventually, they got it done.

The title screen lit up the room as Dendy turned off the lights. On screen, Kickmaster, a kick themed hero, was posing. Dendy sat down next to KO, who immediately shot up.

"Wait!"

Dendy waited, patiently watching KO as he began to bounce on his heels.

"We can't watch this on the floor. We need-" He lowered his voice dramatically. "-blankets. And maybe pillows?"

Dendy adjusted her goggles. "May I offer a suggestion? We can cross another item off of our list: building a blanket fort."

KO punched the air. "Yeah!" he yelled.

Dendy stood up and put a hand on his arm. "Please do not yell. My parents will be going to bed soon, and I do not wish to disturb them."

KO crouched down a little and performed a tiny air punch. "Yeah," he yell-whispered.

Dendy gave him a nod in assent. She walked out of the room and returned a few minutes later with a pile of blankets and pillows so large that they blocked her vision. KO immediately moved to help her.

"Thank you, KO," she said as soon as she could see again.

They immediately set to constructing a blanket fort, using a combination of excellent teamwork and terrible engineering. Dendy had deemed using her hackpack as 'not sleepover approved,' so their fort was quickly assembled manually out of the coffee table, a nearby armchair, and as many pillows and blankets as Dendy could get her hands on.

Within twenty minutes, their creation was done. It looked surprisingly stable and just barely had enough room for both of them. They crouched together under their rough tent and giggled.

After a minute, KO asked, "how are we going to see the screen from under here?"

Dendy reached up and tried to gently move the roof blanket to the side. She shifted it ever so slowly, using the utmost care and attention, and, for just a moment, they could see the kick man's glowing face from inside their creation.

And then the blanket slipped off the table, toppling the pillow walls and comforter roof of the fort, leaving them squatting in a loose nest of fluffiness.

Dendy gave him an apologetic expression. "I am sorry, KO."

"Hey!" KO scooched forward to give her a sideways hug. "Don't worry about it! Making mistakes is what being a hero is all about. That's what my mom always says. Anyways, we can see the screen now. Let's watch."

Dendy retrieved the corn bowl from the couch where it had been stowed for safe keeping while KO hit play. They snuggled down into the blanket pile and began to watch the continuing adventures of Kickmaster.

They watched the whole movie with only a few murmured comments between them, mostly just exclamations of excitement from KO and whispers of laughter from Dendy whenever a boom mic dipped into frame. By the time the credits rolled, KO was curled up around a pillow and blinking heavily. Dendy seemed outwardly more awake.

She turned to face him as soon as the menu screen reappeared.

"KO, are you asleep?"

He mumbled something and sat up slowly. He gave her a sleepy thumbs up.

"Perfect. We are both well within the ranges of tiredness to excuse invasive questions. I have many."

KO leaned forward excitedly. "Me, too! How come your parents have cool head pools and you don't?"

Dendy seemed a bit caught off guard, but not offended. "Oh. That is simple, really." She leaned forward, tipping her head carefully towards him. She parted her hair on the very top, exposing her scalp. She had a very small bald spot that was indented very slightly. "All kappas have sara that grow larger and more damp as they grow up. A child will have nothing but a small dent, while an adult will have a small pond. It is supposed to keep us wet while we are above water. It is a sign of maturity in kappas."

KO ran his fingers through his own hair. "Only kappas?" he asked.

"Only kappas have sara . Although, you can still go bald, like Mr. Gar."

KO sighed in relief. "At least I have that. Okay, it's your turn."

She set the popcorn bowl back on the coffee table. "Please tell me about TKO."

KO smiled widely and excitedly. One of his fists, suddenly clenched into a fist. The color changed subtly as that wristband grew spikes for just a few seconds. KO didn't seem to notice.

"Oh, it's super cool! We've been working together and trying to see if we can share more. TKO has been trying to make friends and he even apologized to Enid for punching her!"

Dendy pulled her hackpack from where it was hidden out of sight. "This is in case I need to take notes. TKO activated and was able to speak up earlier without fully taking over, which is new. What do you mean by share?"

"Oh, yeah. Well, I mean, he was able to take control of my arms or legs before, especially when he thought he saw Shadowy Figure in the store. But now, we've been letting each other take control when the other person wants to. So, the other day, TKO wanted to go to work, so I let him be on the outside, and I stayed on the inside. But, when TKO got really mad at Pird, I took over and handled it. And when I really wanted to talk to Rad, he let me, even though it was his turn. So we're sharing! It's really cool!"

She pulled up a few screens and typed a few quick notes. "Fascinating. I had been assuming that your turbonic mode was a chemical or physical change, but what you are describing is more of a secondary presence in your mind. Is that correct?"

KO's posture tensed as control was shifted. His energy became much harsher as spikes extended from his wristbands. He grimanced slightly, revealing sharp teeth."There's two boys trapped in here," replied TKO. "I'm not a power move or whatever, I'm a person." He glared at Dendy, the unusual lighting of the now movie's title screen made him look unfamiliar and menancing.

Dendy nodded. "Fascinating. I'll have to make a new entry for you in my notes. My data on you was categorised under KO's entry, which now seems incorrect."

TKO looked vaguely uncomfortable and distant in a way that Dendy had come to realize indicated cross talk between the two boys. He crinkled his nose distastefully.

"KO says- I should tell you. You-" He grimanced again. "You hurt my feelings. With all the testing. It was frustrating. Infuriating. You guys kept trying to provoke me to come out and then not letting me take control and it was awful ." He reached out for the popcorn bowl, drawing the bowl closer to his chest as he crunched on the kernels and avoided eye contact.

Dendy reached out slowly and grabbed a handful of kernels as well. He flinched, but remained still. "I am sorry, TKO. I was thoughtless and cruel to both you and KO. I hope I can make it up to you, but I recognize that you have the right to be upset."

TKO twitched, and then it was KO again, blunt teeth and all. "It was my fault too! I agreed to all those tests, too."

Dendy absently nodded as she brought up a screen. "Of course, KO. This is a very inefficient manner to hold a three way conversation. Perhaps I can design some sort of gadget that can take your twin responses and announce them separately…"

"Oh!" KO threw up his arms, which tipped the popcorn bowl halfway over before one of his hands snaked out to right it independently. He didn't notice. "I didn't tell you the best part! We were able to sync up and both fight Shadowy Figure at the same time!"

Dendy closed her current screen and turned her full attention back to them. "You were able to sync up with your turbonic self? Explain."

KO (with gratuitous hand motions) explained their fight with Shadowy Figure, starting with them each having control of half of his body, and ending with them fighting in tandem. By the time he had finished explaining the fight and how cool it was to be able to fly, Dendy had a screen back up and was typing furiously.

"Interesting. Have these results been repeated?"

"Have we done that since? Uhhhh…" KO tapped his chin. "No, I guess not. I mean, we've mostly just been taking turns."

"Yeah," burst in TKO. "The half and half thing was a total bust. We couldn't even walk right! And even drifting wasn't perfect. We still got all out of whack and messed each other up."

"Hmm." Dendy finished typing a sentence and let her hands still for a moment. "I'd recommend trying those again sometime. Practice and understanding each other better may make 'syncing up' easier." She closed her screen with a gesture. "However, that is not the sort of thing that makes a sleepover. While genuinely interesting, I do not wish to derail with my questions. We have veered quite off track from our party plans. KO, can you get the list?" She gestured at the forgotten piece of paper on the coffee table.

"I got it," said TKO gruffly.

"Thank you. Since I selected probing questions and KO selected movie viewing, it is now your turn. What is our next activity, my turbonic friend?"

TKO gritted his teeth at the word 'friend' as he glanced over the paper. "Boring, did it, boring, boring, lame… Most of these are lame."

Dendy made grabby hands at the list, but TKO leaned away and continued reading. When Dendy scooted forward to chase after it, he put his foot up to ward her away.

"Lame, lame, boring. Dumb. How do you feel about scary stories?"

Dendy shook her head and TKO's face briefly loosened into KO's terror for a moment.

"Okay, then all of these are lame."

Dendy sat back down with a small smile on her face. TKO returned the smile without thinking for a moment. "Alright then. If they are all lame, we should either pick one at random or go to sleep."

TKO scowled. "I'm not tired. The other one is getting kinda sleepy, though."

"I'm not… sleepy…" said KO drowsily. Dendy leaned forward to pat him on the shoulder.

"Then we will do one more activity chosen at random."

Dendy leapt up from their collapsed blanket fort and scurried out of the room. KO yawned hugely before shifting almost comically to TKO's comparatively tense alertness.

Dendy walked back in with a large box, setting it roughly on the coffee table. It smelled old and vaguely musty. "This is my mom's old Bungeons and Bagons stuff. How many entries are on that list?"

TKO looked down at the paper. "27."

Dendy dug around in the box and fished out an odd looking numbered shape. "Aha! A 27 sided die! We will simply roll this to determine what our last slumber party activity will be."

TKO raised an unimpressed eyebrow. "Couldn't you have written some code in like half the time it took to find that?"

Dendy crouched down next to him, offering the die. "Yes. It didn't seem like a very slumber party thing to do."

TKO took the die and rolled it on the ground. It came up as a 13. Dendy snatched the list from where he had casually dropped it and started scanning.

"Number thirteen is hair braiding. Intriguing. As my hair is too short to braid, I will braid yours. Please take off your headband."

TKO sneered. "This is stupid," he said as he quickly removed his headband. Dendy watched for any sparks of purple lightning, but saw nothing.

"Yes," responded Dendy blandly. She sat down behind the boy and quickly started finger combing his hair. She sat as far away as she could, still keenly aware of how tentative their friendship was. After combing out the tangles, she instinctively scooted forward as she started to separate the strands and weave the mass of hair into one huge loose braid.

TKO sat silent and still.

"Please tell me if I tug too hard. I do not wish to harm you," said Dendy.

TKO grunted neutrally.

Dendy fell into a rhythm, quickly making her way through the mass of hair in front of her. "I learned how to do this to help with cable management. It is a good way to keep things tidy when you run out of twist ties."

TKO made a "hmm" noise.

"He fell asleep," said TKO suddenly. He made a short, indecipherable hand gesture before putting his hands back in his lap. Dendy noticed that his wristbands, though purple, were not studded with spikes. She had not been paying attention to his wrists, and wondered at which switch between the two that the spikes stopped appearing. "I knew I could be asleep while he was in control, but this is the first time its been the other way around."

"Oh?" she said mildly. Was this dangerous? She suddenly wished she had interrogated KO more thoroughly on his other half's current behavior. He had behaved up until now, but…

She kept her worries to herself.

She wasn't sure if TKO's hair differed from KO's in any meaningful manner. She did not have enough data from touching KO's to compare. Also, she had noticed that the massive physical changes when switching was greatly diminished. The wristband spikes were just one example. Their mid conversation body sharing, while a not totally elegant system for communication, was remarkable.

Dendy wasn't sure if this was awkward and itched to ask.

"Mommy doesn't know what to do with us," said TKO suddenly.

Dendy paused for a second but thought better of it and continued smoothly. "Oh?"

"She-" TKO struggled with his words for a second. "She loves us- him. But she doesn't know how to treat us anymore. She doesn't know how to handle me." He ducked his head a little. Dendy was forced to scoot forward a bit more.

TKO was silent again. Dendy carefully crossed the rapidly shrinking strands a few more times.

"Have you talked to her about this?"

TKO snorted. "No." His hands came together and clasped tightly. "KO thinks- I think- Carol must-" He growled quietly in frustration. "I tried- I tried to punch her. That first time I was really in control. That was what finally got KO horrified enough to break out of my cage. The thing that I had been trapped in as long as I can remember, and he just- he broke out of it for her. And now- Shadowy Figure said I'm part of KO's mind. But I-" He hunched his shoulders. "What kind of son tries to punch their own mother?"

Dendy finished the braid with a hair tie she kept in her inventory, not wanting to ruin the moment by getting up to see what sort of ribbon she could find. With his big, wild mass of hair tamed and constrained in the braid, with his neck exposed and his shoulders up to his ears, TKO almost looked…

Fragile.

He did not turn around to face her.

"You feel guilty about it." Dendy kept her tone level.

"Yeah. I guess."

"That's an improvement."

"Heh. Guess the other guy is rubbing off on me." He reached up and rubbed his exposed neck.

"I think that you need practice. You have only been a person in the real world for a shockingly small amount of time, and you are fueled by negative emotions. It is logical for your first taste of freedom to have a messy outcome."

TKO started to turn around. "Gee, thanks-"

Dendy put her hand on his shoulder, stopping him. He froze. "I am not finished. You are feeling guilty about your actions. When I apologized to you, I promised to be more thoughtful in the future. Apologizing also helped me absolve my guilt as well and made me feel better. You, with your newfound ability to manifest in the real world, now have the opportunity to apologize, as well as try to make it up to your mom."

Dendy leaned forward, face planting into the newly formed braid and wrapping her arms around TKO in a hug.

"I am very proud of you, TKO."

TKO stuttered like a glitch, then suddenly KO was slumped forward, dead asleep in the kappa's arms. Dendy smiled and gently lowered KO to the blanket covered floor and wrapping him hastily in a cocoon made of the failed blanket fort.

"Goodnight, KO. Goodnight, TKO."


	4. how many boys can we get in this forest?

When KO stumbled out of his room in the morning, his mother was not ready to go to work. Her purse was still tossed carelessly on the coffee table in the living room, her shoes were still by the door, and she was wearing an apron in the kitchen instead of her dojo outfit.

"Mommy! We're gonna be late!" KO announced worriedly. He immediately picked up her purse and tried to hand it to her. "I can't be late to work! And your students need you!"

Carol chuckled and took her purse from him before setting it on the kitchen table. "The bodega is flooded, sweetpea. We can't go to work."

KO put his hand to his chin thoughtfully. "Then that means…"

" _Day off!_ " they yelled together. KO clapped his hands excitedly while Carol ruffled his hair.

KO felt a vague stirring in the back of his head. TKO was finally fully awake.

'Lame,' he said groggily. 'I was gonna ask Enid something. Whatever.'

"Will we be able to go to work tomorrow?" KO asked for his other half. He felt a soft wave of quiet appreciation tinged with a tiny speck of anxiety sweep through him.

Carol turned back to the oven, fiddling with a spatula above KO's line of sight. "Yeah, Eugene said that the plaza will be completely dry by tomorrow. Why, would you rather go to work than hang out with your old mom?" She gave him a teasing wink.

KO was aghast. "No! I wanna hang out with you! TKO just wanted to ask Enid something."

Carol flipped something over in her pan. "Oh? Well, he could always call her or send her a text. Now, help mommy by setting the table, hun."

KO sped to put down plates and help pour drinks. By the time Carol had put whatever she was cooking on a dish, there were plates, cups, forks, and KO at the table. She smiled warmly at him.

"We're having pancakes," she said cheerfully.

KO swung his feet in excitement. "Oh boy!"

They tucked into their late breakfast with gusto. It had been a while since they had had the time to make pancakes from scratch, so this was a rare treat for both of them. They were quickly finished eating, and KO helped Carol wash and dry their dishes.

Carol spoke up. "Since I'm not going to the dojo today, I was thinking that we might meditate together. Does that sound fun?"

KO gasped. "Really? That sounds awesome! Are we gonna go out to the forest?"

'This is lame.'

Carol ruffled his hair softly. "Yeah! We haven't mediated together in a while, but I'm sure our old stomping ground is still there."

KO quickly began zooming around the room, forming a loose excited orbit around Carol as he grabbed everything he thought he needed. She chuckled and put away the dishes before going to help him fill a small backpack with water bottles and snacks. They were quickly ready for their daytrip and piled into the tank.

KO bounced in his seat on the way. Carol drove quietly, lost in her own thoughts. Their preferred mediation spot, a sunny meadow by a small creek, was very peaceful and mildly remote. They had to drive down the highway and take a ranger trail before they were anywhere close. Carol parked a bit off the game trail with practiced ease. The whole woodsy area was full of light and trees, shading the parked car. She quickly took out her phone and shot out a text.

"Remember, KO," she said, getting out of the car, "if you ever plan to be in the woods for a while, always let someone know where you are and when you plan to leave. That way, if you get lost, they'll know as soon as possible, and they will know where to start looking."

KO looked worried. "Are we gonna get lost?"

'Yes, we're going to die in the woods. Let's just go home.'

"No, of course not, sweetie. It's just good to be prepared."

They traversed through the light foliage with Carol at the head. She punched any significant branches in their way, except for a small one that she lifted up her son to punch. He was delighted. Slowly, they began to hear the sound of rushing water, and soon, they were on the bank of their small unnamed creek.

"We're here! Where do you want to sit?" Carol asked.

KO immediately sat down directly where he was.

She laughed. "Good choice!"

She arranged herself next to him with a practiced grace. KO watched her position herself with a narrowed glance before copying her.

"Now, just listen to the sounds of the forest. Let your breathing slow. Relax your muscles, one by one. Just let yourself drift."

KO closed his eyes and nodded. He focused on the nearby twitter of birds, the rustling of branches, and the rush of water. He felt the gentle pull of his mindspace, but gently chose to be present. He let his breathing become deep and slow, feeling his overexcited heartbeat slow. Individually, he relaxed his muscles, starting at his toes and moving up.

Breathe in.

Breathe out.

Birdsong.

Breathe in.

Wind in the trees.

Breathe out.

'This is boring.'

Breathe in.

Breathe out.

Creek burbling.

Breathe in.

Breathe out.

'Why do we have to do this?'

Breathe in.

Breathe out.

Breathe in.

'This sucks.'

Breathe out.

Breathe in.

'I'm _bored_.'

Breathe out.

'I'm itchy. Can't we go home? I want to go home.'

"Could you be quiet?!" shouted KO in frustration.

Carol startled at his sudden loud noise. "Honey?"

KO sighed and dragged a hand down his face. "Sorry, mommy. TKO keeps talking to me and distracting me."

Carol was quiet for a moment as she stared at the running water before her.

"Does… TKO often talk to you?" she asked quietly.

KO perked up and twisted to turn to face her. "Oh, yeah! We're getting along really well now. We've been practicing sharing and TKO has been making friends left and right."

'Two people. I can tolerate two people.'

"I see. Have you been a good influence on him? Has he been behaving himself?"

KO nodded excitedly. "Uh huh! He's been such a good boy! He hasn't punched anybody or tried to take over or anything. Actually-" KO put his hand to his chin. "Him talking when I'm trying to meditate is kinda… weird? He's been really nice so far?"

KO felt a rumble of emotion, cloudy with anxiety. It was quickly quashed under a wave of anger.

"I think… he's scared of something?"

' _No!_ I'm _not!_ Stop being so _stupid_.'

Carol reached out, gently resting her hand on his shoulder. Her eyes were kind and soft. "What do you think he would be afraid of?"

KO clasped his hands together and looked down at his lap. He gave himself a moment to soak in the emotions radiating from the back of his mind, sorting through them one by one as TKO paced in his house. "I think I have an idea. Promise you won't be mad?"

"Of course not, sweetie."

He twisted his hands together nervously. "I think… he might be afraid of you? He never wants to come out around you, even now. He's worked a couple of shifts for me, and he's not afraid of talking to strangers or anything. He's even talked openly with Dendy, and he's pretty good friends with Enid now. I don't know why though! You were so nice to him when he took over the first time. Why would he be scared of you?"

Carol sighed. She pulled KO into her lap, hugging him tightly.

"KO, can I talk to TKO? I think we need to clear some stuff up."

KO settled back into his meditation pose for just a moment. TKO opened his eyes and immediately reached up to take off his headband, quickly stuffing it into his vest. He bit his lip and shook out his hair. He made nervous eye contact with Carol, who was giving him a similarly apprehensive look.

"I'm s-" started TKO.

Carol interrupted. "I'm so sorry, honey. I should have… I should have known better. I'm the adult, and I let all this happen. I didn't realize that you weren't KO, and I didn't realize that you were having such a tough time until it all built up too far. And I haven't been helping you lately at all. I've been a bad mom to you. Can you ever forgive me?"

TKO twisted his hands together roughly, unconsciously mirroring KO. "I- I don't know."

Carol's face _fell_.

TKO flung out his hands, starting to grab for her, before flinching away without touching. He brought his hands back and tucked them around himself tightly. "No! That's not- I didn't mean that. I… I didn't know you… It's all my fault! I was the one-" His sentences broke off raggedly. He buried his hands in his hair, tugging, and brought his knees up as a shield. "I tried to _punch_ you! Why aren't you mad at me?!"

Carol opened her arms for a hug. "Can I touch you?"

TKO hesitated, before nodding and scooting forward into her circle of arms. He sat still a inch away, but he was leaned in. She carefully and slowly set her hands on his back and gently pulled him into a true hug. He was still tense, but allowed it.

"Everything that happened… I reacted poorly. And I let you blame yourself. That isn't fair. You're a child, and its not your fault."

TKO twitched and tried to pull away. "Don't patronize me. I'm not 'just a child.' I'm strong and mean and I would have punched you if I had the chance."

Carol smoothed her hands down his back. "Do you still want to punch me?" Her voice was twisted with hesitant sadness.

He leaned into her, hiding his face in her shirt. "No, I don't- I- Before, I wanted to punch everyone. Because I was _so mad_. I'm- I'm still mad, but I'm not _that_ mad."

"I think that should be our first step together. We need to find ways for you to deal with your anger outside of combat."

"Like what?"

"Ripping paper, exercising, or talking it out would all be good options. You can always talk with me."

TKO's face twisted into a snarl. "That sounds _stupid_. I don't want to talk when I'm really angry. All I want to do is destroy stuff." His face fell. "It's all I'm good at. I'm just the built up negative feelings of a do good little boy."

Carol was quiet for a moment. Her hands unconsciously moved to stroke his messy hair. He leaned into the touch, still buried in their seated hug. Birds chirped in the trees.

"Do you consider yourself a different person from KO, or do you think you're just his negative feelings?"

TKO looked at his hands. He looked at his spiked wristbands, his wild hair, his faint but unmistakable aura of feral power. He flexed his hands into fists and then relaxed them. "I don't… know. I- Before Shadowy Figure, I think I existed? But I was… just a shadow. Just a dark tinge to KO's thoughts. But now? We have separate interests, separate styles, different identities. If I'm not… a real person… I think this is as real as I can be. I don't know _what_ I am, not really, but I know I want to be real. I want to be treated as a real person."

Carol nodded. "Okay. No matter what, you're my son and I love you."

TKO blushed and jittered like a VHS. "I appreciate it, but the only reason that didn't send me back inside is that KO doesn't want to take control right now." He rolled his eyes. "I think he's giving us space to talk. I hope he's not touching my stuff."

Carol stroked his hair.

He rocked closed to her. "...I really do appreciate it, though. It's… very reassuring. I was so worried and scared, and then I got angry that I was scared, and I felt _powerless_ , and I just wanted to- I don't know."

"What were you worried about?"

"You. I was so worried that you were mad at me, and when I started sharing with KO more, I realized that I couldn't avoid you, and I didn't want to mess up what I had, but I also didn't- I was afraid to face you and apologize."

She hugged him a bit tighter. "You don't have to apologize."

He pushed away. "I _do_."

She gave him a small smile. "Okay, honey. If it makes you feel better, I accept your apology."

He leaned back into the hug. "Thank you."

They hugged in the warm sunlight in a comfortable silence. TKO wondered privately if this was the longest amount of time he had ever been touched outside of a fight. The thought made him feel weak for thinking of it, and slightly mad that it even mattered. He wrestled with his thoughts for a few more moments before Carol spoke up again.

"How do you want me to treat you?"

TKO drew back and gave her a puzzled look.

"I mean, how much stuff do you want to share with KO? We can go clothes shopping or get you some stuff that's just yours."

He looked up at her, painfully earnest. "Just for me?"

She kissed the top of his head, earning him another shudder of desynchronization. "Yeah, buddy. We can go shopping later, okay? Pick some stuff out for you. I heard Enid gave you some stuff the other day, so we can add some stuff to that."

"KO helped me make stuff," he pointed at his head, "in my house. It would be nice… to have that sort of stuff in real life."

"What kind of stuff?"

"Just like shirts and posters and stuff… It's not the sort of things that KO likes. Just to warn you."

Carol laughed softly. "I guessed as much. You two are very different."

He smiled up at her, the expression radiant and reminding her of KO. She leaned down and nuzzled the top of his head.

"What do you want to do today?"

He shifted in his seat, antsy. "I… I don't know. I'm still… I was so scared to talk with you, that I'm still really nervous. I can't- I can't really think right now."

"Let's try meditation. It can be very helpful with dealing with emotions."

TKO crossed his arms. "But it's _boring_."

Carol smiled. "Maybe it'll be less boring if you're the one doing it. I'll admit, its not fun to watch people meditate, but it can be helpful to do yourself. Now, close your eyes, relax your muscles, and just let yourself drift. If you feel yourself start to think something, don't dwell on it. Just let it float away."

He nodded and let his posture get even worse, slouching on the forest floor facing Carol. He tried to copy how it felt for KO to do this, trying to start with relaxing his feet and moving up. He got to his calves before his hands started tapping on his knees. He tried to stop, but just ended up nodding his head rhythmically. When he was able to stop himself after that, he was even more tense than when he started.

TKO scrunched up his face in a half snarl. "This isn't working. This _sucks_. I hate this."

Carol stood up, shaking out her legs. "You're right. This isn't working." She offered him a hand to help him up. "Let's try something else."

He took her hand and floated upwards before landing back on his feet. She turned around and pointed into the underbrush. He looked into the calm and quiet woods and saw a fallen tree leaning against its neighbor.

"See that dead tree? Good. How many power fists can you do?"

TKO shifted into a fighting stance, grinning wickedly. "Enough to obliterate that stupid tree."

Carol stood behind him and put her hands on his shoulders. "Bend your knees a bit more. Turn sideways a bit, makes you a smaller target for ranged attacks. Only face something full on if you're trying to block someone behind you from damage. And start with small blasts. The first couple should just be to scare anything that's in there out. Then, slowly increase the power. Go."

TKO followed her instructions clumsily but enthusiastically. He started punching out tiny power fists, just strong enough to knock on wood, before ramping up until each blast splintered the wood and left huge gaps in the wood. Eventually, there was nothing but a pile of wood chips and a little boy bouncing lightly on his heels. He turned to Carol with an open smile.

"What next, mommy?"

Carol smiled and felt like her heart might burst. "Let's go find another dead tree, okay?" She held out her hand and began to lead him downstream. After a minute, he stopped bouncing and slowed down a bit.

"Why are we doing this?" he asked, his excitement shifting to confusion.

"Because, TKO," said Carol. "Meditation isn't the only way to relieve tension. You need a way to relieve your built up negative emotions without hurting anyone, and I need a way to bond with my son."

TKO smiled into his hair and followed her downstream.


	5. ginuwine wrestleboys

"So, you've hung out with me, you've apologized to Dendy, and you're getting along with KO pretty consistently. Does that mean that Radicles is next?"

TKO crossed his arms and slouched against the counter. "Maybe," he grunted.

"What's the plan there? Because he did like you a lot before you," Enid flexed her arms and lowered her voice, " _broke every bone in my body_. He should be the easiest of all of us to get along with."

TKO shrugged and turned away, hiding his face in his wild hair.

"You're not… _afraid_ of him, are you?"

"NO. I'm not afraid of anyone." TKO scowled aggressively at Enid. She smiled back cheekily.

"Are you nervous? Why? He's _Radicles_. He's the least scary person I know."

"He _sucks_!" TKO yelled suddenly. "He's a posturing, macho idiot who doesn't know when to quit! He pretends he's all that and he's actually just a weakling pretending to be cool."

Enid nodded sagely. "Too close to home?"

"What- How dare- How- I'm gonna- What-" TKO's hands started to glow purple as he stuttered and growled.

Enid snorted and ruffled his hair. "Just kidding, squirt. Pffft."

TKO twitched and growled, infuriated. Suddenly his tension melted away. KO sighed and reached into his vest for his headband. He flinched a bit at the subconscious sound of TKO slamming the door to his house.

"I think that's enough of that," he said firmly, giving Enid a frown.

She rolled her eyes. "Welcome back, KO."

He crossed his arms, mirroring TKO from just a minute earlier. "You shouldn't tease him like that. He's trying really hard." He gave her his best kicked puppy look.

"The guy chased me around the bodega while fighting me at full strength _and_ he didn't help us clean up afterwards. I get to poke fun at him a little."

"But Eeeeeeenid!"

"No buts!" said Enid.

Suddenly, there was a loud crash from the backroom, and then Radicles stuck his head out of the back room.

"What about butts?" he asked.

"Rad!" said KO excitedly.

"Rad, we need you. Come here," said Enid, gesturing briskly.

Radicles walked up to the counter, quickly accepting a hug from KO before leaning against it coolly.

"What do you need my muscles for?" he asked, flexing.

"We need your most important muscle: your brain. KO, is TKO paying attention?"

KO frowned, looking inwards for just a moment. "No, he's still mad and listening to loud rock music."

Enid gave him a bemused smile. "I don't even want to know how that works. Perfect. Rad, what could TKO do to make amends for-" She lowered her voice. " _The incident_?"

Radicles looked confused. "Is this a prank? I thought TKO only happened when KO got really mad? And KO already apologized and helped us rebuild the plaza? He can apologize now?"

KO nodded, his face painfully earnest. "He's been apologizing to people and making friends! I'm really proud of him!"

"We're all proud of TKO," said Enid. "He's a little jerk, but he's _our_ little jerk. He's the punk yang to my cool ying. Anyways, he's nervous about how to apologize to you, Rad."

Rad put his hand to his chin. "He did break every bone in my body. Hmm. I guess he can help me with stocking? He's a strong little dude."

"That's not really-" started Enid.

"He can do that!" interrupted KO excitedly. "He can help! He's getting really good at being helpful and good!"

Enid smiled wryly. "He wanted to punch me into space literally ten minutes ago."

Rad looked a little alarmed. "Did he?" he asked worriedly.

Enid gestured to herself, not in orbit.

"No," said KO. "He's not perfect. But! He's doing much better."

Rad shrugged and shared a look with Enid. "Yeah, but his starting point was murderous rage, so…"

KO looked a bit affronted, while Enid laughed.

"Kiddo, can you get T? It's apology time." She leaned over the counter to boop his nose. "Ding dong!"

Rad looked even more confused. "Is _that_ how you go turbo?"

KO closed his eyes, screwing up his face in concentration. He opened his eyes and gave them both an apologetic face.

"Sorry, guys. He's still hiding. I don't want to make him come out if he doesn't want to."

Enid frowned. "I didn't mean to make him _that_ mad. Whatever, he'll come out when he wants to."

KO clasped his hands together and turned to fully face Radicles. "I can help you while TKO is hiding! Please?"

Rad chuckled. "You think you're strong enough to stock? It's a job only suited for the strongest of heroes." He flexed impressively.

KO nodded so fast that he gave himself a small headache. Enid rolled her eyes and smirked. Rad gestured for KO to follow him into the back. He walked with him, talking the whole way.

"Mommy has been training with me and I've really been getting stronger! TKO and her have been training together and sometimes I get to learn how to do all sorts of new moves. Did you know that they make punching bags and targets that you can use energy blasts on? It's so cool!"

They walked past an array of metal shelves and came to a stop by the large metal loading doors. A huge pile of crates was stacked precariously just inside the doors. Rad put his hand on one crate.

"Okay, kiddo. We need to take these boxes and put them on those shelves. You just have to read the stickers on the crates and match them with the labels on the shelves. Sound good?"

KO nodded and set to work. Rad immediately set to work levitating enormous crates while KO started trying to lift some of the smaller crates with limited success. He struggled to even inch his burden, let alone lift them onto a high shelf.

 _TKO could do this easily,_ he thought. _Where is he?_

While it was true that they had been getting along incredibly well, listening in on his other self's talk with his mother made him fully aware of what a strain acting 'good' all the time was putting on him. And TKO had not been paying attention when the plan of talking with Rad was made, so perhaps he was simply taking a day off and didn't realize the opportunity he was missing.

KO helped Rad as best he could for what felt like an hour, but was more likely twenty minutes. He was sweaty, exhausted, and his limbs felt weak. He was breathing hard, bent over with his hands on his knees. Rad finished moving a pallet of crates and walked over to KO. He ruffled his hair playfully.

"How… do… you do... this all day?" panted KO.

Rad shrugged. "It's all practice, dude. Well, I've always been the beefy icon you see before you, but I'm sure you could catch up eventually."

KO perked up at that and beamed at Rad.

"Go get some water or something, dude. Your sweat is starting to make the ground slippery," said Rad teasingly.

KO pouted at him. "I am not!"

'You are really sweaty,' mumbled TKO suddenly.

He perked up dramatically. "TKO! You're back! We're hanging out with Rad today. Isn't that great?"

Rad gave him a weird look and pointed at his head. He mouthed, "are you going turbo?" KO felt a stiff breeze of dislike ooze out of his mind. He shook his head at Rad and frowned at him meaningfully.

Rad shrugged and started to walk towards the front. "Let's go to the break room, little buddy. I've got some Electrodrink in my bag."

KO trotted behind him. "Do you have any diet drink?"

"No, but I have Electrolite." Rad set his bag on the break room table and dug through it for a moment. He quickly found and held aloft a bottle. It shimmered a sparkling red, like a health potion or a sports drink. "Behold, KO. The most quenchiest liquid around."

KO's eyes grew wide. "The quenchiest..." he breathed in awe. He made grabby hands at it eagerly. He leaned over the table, straining to reach.

"Hey, whoa, be careful-" warned Rad. KO overbalanced and accidentally tipped the table, sending Rad's bag tumbling to the ground, sending all of its contents skidding out. It was a mess, with wadded up receipts and other, mostly trash, things spilling out all over the floor. KO immediately started to shove things back in.

"Sorry, Rad. It was an accident."

"It's okay, dude." He leaned down to help KO scoop up his scattered detritus. "Ah, man. I had a system and everything." He picked up a hair dryer. "So this is where this went."

'Oh.' TKO nudged him for control of their arms. KO immediately acquiesced, letting the other boy take control. His wristbands spiked instantly. His hands reached out in the pile and delicately brushed aside a crumbled bow tie to reveal a bottle of shiny blue nail polish. Gently, oh so gently, he picked up the bottle and cradled it gently in his hands.

KO spoke up. "I didn't know you painted your nails, Rad. That's so cool!"

Rad shoved everything on the floor, including his pile, several loose pens, and one penny, back into his bag. "Huh? Oh yeah! Yeah, its super fun. It's hard to find a color to match my dazzling complexion, but it's always fun to do. I really ought to get back in the habit, haha."

KO could feel TKO ask for permission to speak, and quickly let his hold dwindle from everything but arms to nothing at all.

TKO cleared his throat. "Do you... do you have any other colors?" His voice was gravelly and low.

Rad, oblivious to the shift, continued shoveling things into his bag. "Not with me, but yeah, dude. Megafootball Baby was getting out of nail painting when I was getting into it, so I got all his stash." He squinted at TKO. "I think I some of his colors would fit you. Do you want to come over and get our paint on? I think I'm free tomorrow."

TKO handed him the blue nail polish, careful to not touch him. Rad threw the small glass bottle into his bag carelessly.

"I would... like that," said TKO. He bared his teeth in a nervous attempt at a smile.

He shuddered and pushed control back to KO, who fumbled for a second before taking back full control. He straightened up and beamed. "We'll ask Mommy if we can hang out today, Rad! This is gonna be so cool!"

Rad dumped his bag back on the table. He smiled back at KO a bit confusedly. "Haha, yeah. It'll be sick. Let's get back to work though, dude. Mr. Gar will have my butt if I don't finish unloading by today."

KO jumped up and followed him back to the stock room to continue helping him move heavy crates.

* * *

After a couple of hours, the pair walked out of the back room, sweaty but cheerful. Rad gave him an affectionate noogie.

"I think you're really improving, little dude. By the end, you were able to lift a lot of those crates by yourself! Good job, man. "

He giggled. "Thanks, Rad! Actually, that was because TKO was helping. After you two talked, he was more willing to help me out. I think he's just shy."

'Am not.'

Rad walked with him to the break room and picked up his bag. KO picked up his frog wallet from his tiny locker. Rad gave him a confused look.

"When did I talk to TKO? You messing with me, dude?"

"No? You talked to him today?

KO followed him out of the break room as they headed towards where Enid was manning the front. As they approached, she exaggeratedly tapped her foot and held up the store keyring. Rad flapped his hand at her. "We're coming, we're coming."

They walked within arms reach of Enid, who immediately took the opportunity to ruffle KO's hair. She then quickly wiped her hands on her pants. "Sweaty. How'd working in the back go today, brushhead?"

KO bounced on heels. "Great! Me and TKO moved all the boxes together with Rad and it was so cool! Did you know that gum comes in a big crate? It was bigger than me!"

Enid laughed. "I'm glad you guys had fun working with Rad."

KO bounced on his heels and nodded vigorously in agreement. Then, he took off his headband, wrung out the sweat, and replaced it back on his head. Rad startled a little when he first took it off, but calmed as he put it back on. Enid laughed at him.

"What? I thought he was going turbo!"

He felt a swell of hostility, before Enid laughed and poked at him playfully. "More like going emo."

TKO laughed in the back of KO's mind.

They quickly locked up the store and went their separate ways, still talking and teasing and needling each other until they were out of earshot.

* * *

The next day, KO was bouncing around his room. As always, his morning routine was energetic and erratic. He bounced from drawer to drawer and room to room, making himself look presentable.

'Wait.'

KO froze in his tracks.

'Can I...?' TKO trailed off, but took over his arms. He pointed towards his drawer, a special dresser drawer that Carol had set aside for TKO's clothes. Currently, there wasn't more than a handful of shirts and one pair of shorts.

"Oh! Yeah! Let's wear one of your shirts today." KO immediately moved to throw on a black shirt with a band logo on the front. "You can wear this to hang out with Rad, too."

TKO mumbled at him unintelligibly while he finished getting ready and got dressed. They had discovered that TKO woke up and fell asleep slower than KO. This meant that, generally, KO had been picking out their clothes for the day, and TKO was in charge of pajamas.

"This is the first time you've wanted to wear one of your shirts to work." KO smirked devilishly. "Are you trying to impress someone?" He looked down at the shirt with a thoughtful frown. "Because I don't know if anyone besides Enid likes this band. Maybe Potato?"

'...no.'

KO moved to leave his room. "Then why?"

TKO was silent as he headed to Carol in the kitchen. She kissed him on the forehead and served him oatmeal.

"Morning, sweethearts."

"Good morning!" said KO.

"Sup," said TKO.

They set into their oatmeal with trademark gusto. KO could still feel TKO rolling around his question in his mind. He didn't press.

In just a few minutes, they were done with breakfast and all ready to head out. They hopped into Carol's tank, and were on their way to work before TKO finally answered.

'It's Rad.'

KO stopped swinging his feet against the car seat and perked up. "What's Rad?"

Carol glanced over to him and then back at the road. She was starting to get used to only hearing one side of a conversation at a time.

'He's bad at... seeing me. Enid knew in one word when I talked to her. Everyone else kinda... gets it. They know when I'm talking. But... Rad didn't even think I ever spoke to him. I just... I thought maybe the shirt would, like, remind him?'

"Oh!" KO stopped swinging his legs. "Yeah! That might work."

'I hope so,' said TKO softly.

* * *

A few hours later, after an uneventful shift, KO was buckled into Rad's van as he drove it out of the parking lot. KO and Rad punched the roof of his van as they pulled out of the parking lot.

"Rad Van! Rad Van!" they chanted.

Rad laughed excitedly. "I'm glad someone else appreciates my sick ride."

"Yeah! It's so cool!"

He swung his feet excitedly and pulled the seat belt forward so that it would snap back into his chest. He checked his phone, answer a text from Dendy, and drummed his fingers on the window.

"TKO has been really excited-"

'False.'

"-about this! He thinks painted nails are really cool! Actually..." KO looked at his hands closely. "I think our nails get kinda dark when he's in control? Kinda like nail polish? Do you know how that works, Rad?"

Rad chuckled somewhat nervously as he turned into his neighborhood. "I think that's more of a Dendy question, squirt. Or maybe your mom?" He squirmed in his seat and tapped his fingers on the wheel. "So... TKO?"

KO looked at him with an open expression. "Yes?"

"TKO?"

"Yes?"

"...TKO."

"...yes. Did you want to ask me something about TKO or are you asking to talk to him?"

Rad fidgeted. "So TKO wanted to hang out? With me? And do nail polish? With me?"

He raised an eyebrow at Rad. "Yeah? He said he did yesterday. Remember?"

Rad looked even more anxious. "I think I might have missed you going turbo? I really don't remember that."

KO crossed his arms in frustration. He felt TKO's wave of negativity reflect off his own, building off one another. "You did speak with him. You promised you would hang out with him. Why can't you just-!" KO dug his fingernails into his arms. He grit his teeth and scrunched up his face.

Rad glanced over at him worriedly. "Whoa, dude! Are you losing it?"

KO exploded, his hands flinging out in anger before bouncing back to tear at his hair. "No! Why can't you just _trust_ me!"

Suddenly, KO felt himself drug back into his mindspace. He was being drug back by his arm by TKO, whose face shone with worry as he propelled him backwards into his house. KO glanced back at the eye shaped screen to catch a glimpse of Rad's worried face before he was pulled indoors. TKO pulled him to the tv space past a pile of broken phones and pushed him into his teal beanbag chair before settling lightly on his matching purple one. He leaned forward into KO's space and steepled his fingers. KO resumed pulling at his hair.

"I don't think right now is a good time for this! I know we haven't hung out in here together for a while, but I'm kinda in the middle of something." He started to lurch out of the beanbag. "I need to- I need to convince Rad that you're not-"

TKO reached over and pushed him back in the chair with his strength advantage. "Stay. You're not going anywhere. We need to talk this out."

KO drug his fingers down his scalp. "We don't have time for this! I need to talk to Rad and-"

"And what? Convince him I'm, what? Harmless? KO." TKO leaned back into his beanbag, almost disappearing into it. "I'm... I'm mad, too. I'm probably even madder than you. I'm mad that he's scared of me, and I'm mad that he doesn't recognize me when I'm doing anything other than destroying, and I'm terrified that he's gonna, I don't know, hate me forever. I'm angry because I might deserve that."

KO sat up. "TKO..."

"But. You're better than this. You can't just yell at Rad." TKO ran his hand through his hair. "I sound like you. Uck. I really, really can't believe that I'm the one saying this, but you have to trust me, and you have to trust Rad. You can't make us get along, and you especially can't be mad that Rad doesn't like me when he hasn't even met me."

"I know! I just- I don't want this to go bad. So I guess I freaked out." He sighed.

"Welcome to my life."

KO wheezed out a humorless chuckle. He shook his head and buried his face in his hands.

"Hey." TKO reached out and put a hand on his shoulder. "It's gonna be okay." He used to other hand to mime a careless shrug. "Or it won't. I'm not the best judge of character. Whatever. But, really, you gotta chill. Yelling at Rad and not trusting me isn't gonna fix everything. Probably. And if Rad needs to be yelled at, I'll do it. You really shouldn't get mad on my behalf." He squeezed KO's shoulder reassuringly. "It doesn't suit you."

KO let out a noisy sigh. "Where would I ever be without you?"

"First off, not in this specific situation, and, secondly, having your own anger instead of outsourcing it to someone else."

KO struggled to sit up in the beanbag. "I can be mad! I can be mad all on my own!"

TKO laughed. "Okay, sure. But not right now. Right now you're gonna-" He stopped mid sentence, and his eyes widened in realization. "-stay right here while I go hang out with Rad."

KO's brow furrowed. "Are you sure? I can go out and explain..."

TKO bared his teeth offhandedly. "Stay here, squirt. I'm gonna go play nice, while you stay here in time out for being naughty."

KO stuck his tongue out at him, making TKO laugh as he exited the mindspace and took control. He came to on Rad's family's couch, staring at the ceiling. He immediately sat up and looked around, seeing Rad jump out from a nearby armchair.

"Dude! You're up! You just, like, fainted or something?"

TKO took off the headband and ruffled his hair until it was satisfactorily messy and wild. He rubbed at his wrists, seeing the sharp spikes shine in the light. "We're fine. I stepped in to stop KO from yelling at you anymore on my behalf." He flared his nostrils and held out a hand. "I'm Turbo KO."

His hand was tensed in a claw like position, but he thought that was pretty good, all things considering. Rad watched him warily, before taking the hand and giving it a quick shake.

"Oooookay?"

TKO grimanced. "This is gonna be weird," he said, mostly for KO's benefit.

'It's progress!' KO chipped in.

Rad gave him a tense, lopsided smile. "Okay?"

He rolled his eyes. "We're okay. Listen, if we're gonna be weird about this, I'd rather be weird while looking at nail polish."

Rad let out a short, almost startled, laugh. He started walking towards his room and motioned for TKO to follow. "Are you gonna attack me, or something?"

TKO got up and followed him. "Do you need to be attacked? Because honestly I've been getting _really_ into punching robots, but I can make an exception."

'That's not nice!' KO scolded.

TKO pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed dramatically as he entered Rad's room. The place was a mess, but a different brand of mess than Enid's spooky/ninja/cool room. Rad's room was more of an explosion of trash and teen ephemera. There was a kitten poster on the wall near the unmade bed and weights in a loose pile near the door. "What I meant was that I'm not going to punch you."

Rad starting digging in a random drawer, casually kicking trash under his bed without even looking. TKO sat on the ground and picked at his leg warmers distractedly. Eventually, Rad pulled an entire drawer out and slammed it on the ground. He sat down on the carpet as well, but he carefully put the drawer in between them.

"Soooo... take your pick, I guess?"

TKO immediately dug in, pawing past color after color. Despite Rad's earlier assertion that he wasn't that into this hobby, he seemed to have a rather large selection of polishes, top coats, and nail accessories. He wrapped a hand around a bottle of bright orange and lifted it up.

"Remember this?"

Rad laughed. "Oh yeah, my reinvention! I still think it was a good color on me." He preened.

"It wasn't, but sure." TKO chuckled.

Rad chuckled nervously and looked away. "So, you remember that, huh? I didn't think you..." He trailed off and gestured broadly to TKO.

He frowned, but kept his lips from curling into a snarl. His fist tightened on the orange polish, before he carelessly dropped it back in the drawer and kept searching. "I see most of what KO does. Doesn't mean I care, but I generally know what's going on."

"Oh."

There was an awkward tension that grew in the silence. TKO dug with a single minded intensity, while Rad twiddled his thumbs and tried not to look nervous.

"So, do I get to choose your color, too?"

"Huh? Uhhhhh. I guess? If you want?" Rad shrugged helplessly.

TKO furrowed his brow and squinted at the alien, pinning him in place with his intense stare. Rad tried to smile back, but anxiety still seemed to have control over most of his muscles.

"Pink. Pink is your color. Anything too blue and it might clash, and _definitely_ not orange." TKO went back to digging and quickly presented a sharply pink bottle. He offered a smirk with a minimum of fangs and a maximum of smugness.

Rad beamed back. "Oh, yeah? Well you should try-" He shot a pink ray from his finger and extracted a single bottle from the mess. "-this!"

TKO cupped his hands beneath the floating polish and caught it out of the air. Outside of the beam, its color was revealed to be a pastel bluish purple. He raised an eyebrow.

Rad raised both eyebrows and wiggled them for emphasis. "Ehhh?"

TKO sighed dramatically. He closed his eyes and threw his head back. He held out his hands in mock surrender. "Do what you must."

Rad laughed and started to grab some nail supplies. "Enid is right, you _are_ dramatic."

TKO bared his teeth in warning. "Kitten poster," he warned.

Rad took his hand and grabbed an unfamiliar tool. He shrugged loosely and tried to school his face into a confident smirk rather than a nervous twist. "Heh, no one will ever believe you. Also, its motivational."

TKO jerked back, yanking his hand out of Rad's grip. "What's that?"

"Chill out, dude. I just gotta shape 'em before we can add color." Rad held out his hand expectantly.

TKO bit his lip. Hesitantly, he gave his hand back. Rad started buffing and shaping his nails with an easy confidence.

"Nice shirt."

TKO looked downed, as if surprised at his apparel. "Oh, yeah. Thanks. Mommy bought it for me last week."

Rad nodded and continued to buff his nails deftly.

TKO worried his lip with his sharp teeth. "I'm sorry."

Rad glanced up quickly. "For what, dude? You're holding pretty still."

"For..." He sighed and rolled his shoulders slightly. "For breaking all the bones in your body. And punching you into orbit. And saying you're a weak coward."

Rad's face scrunched up. "You never said I was a weak coward."

He furrowed his brow. "You sure?"

"Yeah, dude. I think I would remember."

"Oh." TKO looked mildly surprised as Rad switched to his other hand. "Never mind, then. Then I'm sorry for the punching."

Rad huffed out a small laugh. He reached over and grabbed the pastel nail polish. In a surprisingly short amount of time, TKO's nails were colored a pastel lavender. He stared at them intensely.

"So?" Rad asked nervously.

"You were right about the color," he said simply. "Now show me how to do it."

In a matter of minutes, Rad taught him how to prepare his nails. He was a quick study, listening closely with an intense expression that made Rad only a little nervous. Soon, his nails were shaped, and TKO moved on with the pink polish. He worked quietly and much less neatly than Rad, getting polish on his skin accidentally. He painstakingly finished one hand and had moved on to the other before he spoke up again.

"KO… really looks up to you. Like, an unconscionable amount. Honestly a breathtakingly stupid amount. A real-"

"I get it."

"Yeah. Sorry. I guess I just… I didn't want you to hate me. Or, I guess I didn't want you to hate me _more_. And you didn't seem to even recognize me most of the time, so it's not like you would know that I was avoiding you. It was just kinda easier to not deal with the whole…" He gestured lightly at Rad. "...you situation. So, I didn't."

Rad rubbed lightly at the back of his neck with the palm of his free hand. "Honestly, dude, I didn't notice. I just thought that KO was going through a phase or something where he didn't want to hang out with me as much." He shrugged his shoulders loosely. "You know, realized that I wasn't, uh, worth looking up to so much."

TKO rolled his eyes. "We're both idiots."

Rad smiled. "Uh, speak for yourself. I'm cool and smart and tough."

TKO finished his last nail and closed the bottle. He rubbed his forehead with his forearm, mindful of his nails. "We're both wildly self conscious idiots. This is so stupid."

Rad stretched out his hands to get a good look at his nails. "I don't feel like an idiot. I feel very pretty."

TKO smiled down at his own nails. "Yeah," he said, softly. "Yeah, me too." He looked up at Rad, and let out a small sharp grin. He held out his fist. "Bros?"

Radicles fist bumped him. "Bros!"


End file.
